Breaker strip arrangement



y 0, 969 o. v. SAUNDERS ET AL 3,445,025

BREAKER STRIP ARRANGEMENT Filed Oct. 23, 1967 INVENTORS ATTORNQY United States Patent 3,445,025 BREAKER STRIP ARRANGEMENT Orson V. Saunders, Dayton, and Louis D. Benasutti,

Fairborn, Ohio, assignors to General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Delaware Filed Oct. 23, 1967, Ser. No. 677,331 Int. Cl. B65d /18 U.S. Cl. 2209 2 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE In the preferred form, the bottom of the inner wall is provided at the front with a downturned lip. A plastic breaker strip extends laterally with a portion extending rearwardly beneath the downturned lip and terminating in an upturned edge forming a trough. The breaker strip also has a portion extending upwardly and rearwardly over the front edge of the inner wall. The bottom of the upwardly extending portion is provided with apertures through which any liquid leaking through the joint between the inner wall and the breaker strip will be collected on the trough of the laterally extending portion and flow forwardly over the front edge of the breaker strip. The breaker strip at the front is provided with a longitudinally extending downwardly opening groove which receives the upturned edge of the front upwardly extending leg of a channel member, the other leg of which extends into a second longitudinally extending downwardly opening groove on the bottom of the breaker strip.

This invention pertains to cabinets, and more particularly to an improved breaker strip arrangement for refrigerator cabinets.

Leakage into the insulation space is a problem in refrigerator cabinets and other types of cabinets. One of the places having a tendency to leak is at the joint at the bottom of the compartments between the front edge of the inner wall and the rear edge of the breaker strip. In mass production manufacture it is difficult to assure that every joint is water tight.

It is an object of this invention to provide a breaker strip arrangement which will prevent the liquid from entering the insulation and the insulation space even though the joint with the inner wall is not water tight or hermetically sealed. This and other objects are attained in the form shown in the drawings in which the breaker strip is provided with a drip collector beneath the joint which will collect the drip and carry it over the top of the breaker strip outside the cabinet.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, wherein a preferred embodiment of the present invention is clearly shown.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a vertical fragmentary sectional view through a refrigerator cabinet embodying one form of my invention;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged sectional view of the breaker strip embodying one form of my invention; and

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary perspective view partly in section of the breaker strip and adjacent edge portions of the inner and outer walls.

Referring now more particularly to FIGURE 1, there is shown a refrigerator cabinet 20 provided with an upper below freezing compartment 22 which is separated by a laterally extending insulated partition wall 24 from the lower above freezing compartment 26. The cabinet 20 is enclosed by outer sheet metal walls including a rear wall 28 and a front wall 30. The compartment 26 is lined by the inner wall 32 having an offset 34 and a downwardly turned lip 36 at its front edge. The compartments 22 and 26 are closed by upper and lower front doors 38 and 40 which seal against the outer front wall 30.

The partition wall 24 is provided with a refrigerant evaporator 42 having fins extending from front to rear. A centrifugal fan 44 driven by the electric motor 46 withdraws air from the compartment 48 at the rear of the evaporator 42 and discharges a major portion of the air into the below freezing compartment 22 and a minor portion through the duct 50 into the above freezing food compartment 26. This air returns from the compartment 26 through the passage 52 into a compartment 54 at the front of the evaporator 42. Air also flows from the compartment 22 through the entrance 56 into the compartment or chamber 54. The air is cooled during its movement from the compartment between the fins of the evaporator 42 to the compartment 48. This system maintains the compartment 22 at below freezing temperatures and the compartment 26 at above freezing temperatures.

According to our invention, a breaker strip 58 extends around the opening for the door 40 between the front edge of the inner liner or inner walls 32 of the compartment 26 and the outer walls 30. This breaker strip adjacent the bottom wall of the inner walls 32 is provided with a liquid catching and disposal arrangement for carrying away any leakage between the front portion of the inner walls 32 and the bottom portion of the breaker strip 58. The breaker strip 58 includes a laterally extending portion 60 having its front edge provided with a notch or grooves 62 which includes a front downwardly ex tending projection 64 extending in front of the adjacent portion of the outer wall 30 and a rear projection 66 extending immediately behind the upper edge of the front wall 30. The front wall 30 around the door opening is reinforced by a channel member 68 of sheet steel which may be in the form of a fold of the front wall. This channel member 68 has upwardly extending legs or flanges, the top of one of which extends into the notch or groove 62 between the portions 64 and 66 and the top of the other of which extends into the notch or groove 70 in the rear bottom surface of the breaker strip 58. The legs of the channel therefore support the breaker strip 58 and hold it firmly in place.

The rear edge portion of the breaker strip 48 is provided with a liquid catching arrangement beneath the downturned edge 36. This is provided through the provision of an upturned lip 72 on the rear edge of the breaker strip 58 which is positioned substantially rearwardly of the downturned lip 36 at the front edge of the inner walls 32. Forwardly of the notch or groove 70 and the downturned edge 36 the breaker strip 58 is provided with an integral upwardly extending wall 74 which extends into a rearward overlapping portion 76 which overlaps the front edge of the inner walls 32 as far as the offset 34. Preferably this overlapping portion 76 is sealed to the front edge of the inner walls 32. However, should water or other liquid within the inner walls 26 flow forwardly and leak between the front portion of the inner wall 76 of the breaker strip, this liquid will flow between them and down the downturned lip 36 into the trough 78 formed in the portion of the breaker strip directly beneath it.

The bottom of the upwardly extending portion is provided with a series of uniformly distributed apertures 80 which provide for the flow of liquid from the trough 78 through the apertures 80 over the front portions 60 and 64 of the breaker strip and down the outer surface of the outer wall 30 to a place of disposal. Preferably, the overlapping portion 76 is sealed to the front portion of the inner wall 32. However, should there be any leakage, such leakage will flow into the trough 78 and be prevented from entering the insulation space 82 between the inner and outer walls.

If desired, the bottom wall of the inner Wall or liner 32 may be provided with a suitable drain 84 extending to a place of disposal.

While the embodiment of the invention as disclosed herein constitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other forms might be adopted.

We claim:

1. A cabinet including inner walls, outer walls surrounding and spaced from the inner walls providing an insulating space therebetween, said inner and outer walls having adjacent edge portions adjacent the bottom one of said inner walls, said outer wall having an upturned flange extending substantially parallel to its adjacent edge portion rearwardly of said outer wall edge portion and forming a channel therewith, insulating means in said insulating space, wherein the improvement comprises a breaker strip of plastic having an edge portion extending beneath the edge portion of the bottom inner Wall and extending forwardly therefrom and overlapping the adjacent edge portion of the outer wall, said breaker strip having a downwardly opening groove in its lower surface receiving the top of said upturned flange providing additional support for said extending portion.

2. A cabinet including inner Walls, outer walls surrounding and spaced from the inner walls providing an insulating space therebetween, said inner and outer walls having adjacent edge portions adjacent the bottom one of said inner walls, said outer wall having an upturned flange extending substantially parallel to its adjacent edge portion behind rearwardly of said wall edge portion and forming a channel therewith, insulating means in said insulating space, wherein the improvement comprises a breaker strip of plastic having an edge portion extending beneath the edge portion of the bottom inner wall and terminating in a turned up lip beneath the inner wall, said breaker strip having a laterally extending portion extending forwardly from said turned up lip to said outer wall provided with a downwardly extending portion extending over the adjacent edge portion of the outer wall, said breaker strip also having a portion extending upwardly from said laterally extending portion and thence rearwardly over the front edge of said inner wall, said upwardly extending portion having apertures adjacent said laterally extending portion, said breaker strip having a groove in the lower surface of its laterally extending portion receiving the top of said upturned flange providing additional support for said laterally extending portion.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,662,660 12/1953 Frykdahl 220-9 2,679,944 6/ 1954 Morton 220-9 3,269,789 8/1966 Crowe 220-9 X JOSEPH R. LECLAIR, Primary Examiner.

JAMES R. GARRETT, Assistant Examiner. 

